
Petroleum - Education | National Geographic Society
Nov 15, 2024 · The world's engines run because of petroleum. Petroleum, also known simply as oil, is a fossil fuel formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms. Today, petroleum is found in vast underground reservoirs and extracted with giant drilling machines.
Coal - Education | National Geographic Society
Nov 15, 2024 · Coal is a nonrenewable fossil fuel that is combusted and used to generate electricity. Mining techniques and combustion are both dangerous to miners and hazardous to the environment; however, coal accounts for about half of the …
Petroleum - Education | National Geographic Society
Nov 15, 2024 · One of Earth's most in-demand resources is petroleum, also known as oil. Today, petroleum is found underground and is extracted, or brought out, with giant drilling machines. Crude oil is usually black or dark brown. It can also be yellowish, reddish, tan or even greenish.
Nonrenewable Energy - Education
Mar 18, 2024 · Most nonrenewable energy sources are fossil fuels: coal, petroleum, and natural gas. Carbon is the main element in fossil fuels. For this reason, the time period that fossil fuels formed (about 360-300 million years ago) is called the Carboniferous Period. All fossil fuels formed in a similar way.
Oil Shale - National Geographic Society
Oct 19, 2023 · Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are less expensive to extract. Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, and South Africa began mining oil shale in the 19th and 20th centuries, but they all stopped production by the 1960s.
Fossil Fuels - National Geographic Society
Oct 19, 2023 · Fossil fuels are made from decomposing plants and animals. These fuels are found in Earth’s crust and contain carbon and hydrogen, which can be burned for energy. Coal, oil, and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels. Coal is a material usually found in sedimentary rock deposits where rock and dead plant and animal matter are piled up in layers. More than 50 percent of a piece of coal’s ...
Natural Gas - Education
Oct 19, 2023 · Natural gas is used to heat, cool, and cook in industrial settings, as well. However, it is also used in a variety of processes such as waste treatment, food processing, and refining metals, stone, clay, and petroleum. Natural gas can also be used as an alternative fuel for cars, buses, trucks, and other vehicles.
Distribution of Fossil Fuels - Education
Oct 19, 2023 · Over millions of years, heat and pressure from Earth’s crust decomposed these organisms into one of the three main kinds of fuel: oil (also called petroleum), natural gas, or coal. These fuels are called fossil fuels, since they are formed …
Ore - Education | National Geographic Society
Oct 30, 2024 · Mining companies have explored every continent, as well as the ocean floor, in their search for valuable ore. This scarcity contributes to ore's value.
mining Surface habitat disturbance or destruction, water pollution from toxic coal tailings, waterways are cut off or contaminated by valley fill. Toxic byproducts of the mining and explosive processes also pollute the air. Fuel, electricity, coke, and synthetic products Relatively inexpensive to locate and extract, source of fuel, and used to make